Doris's Genealogy

1710 Palatines

The Palatine movement actually began in 1708 with Pastor Kocherthal representing British interests advertising the readiness of the British crown to finance the emigration from western Germany, primarily the Palatinate, to Carolina. A "golden book" was circulated that encouraged people whose lands had been devastated by war and famine to move to America.

I will not attempt to repeat the history that has been so ably recorded by numerous authors over the years since this effort resulted in the largest ever mass migration from the Old World to the New in 1710. Almost all came to New York's Hudson Valley.

The preeminent source of genealogical information on these families is the muti-volume works by Henry Z. Jones, Jr. Historical information is provided in many books and on many websites. The Palatines to America is a national organization dedicated to this population and other German migrations. Germantown (East Camp) and Saugerties (West Camp) historical societies sponsored bicentennial celebrations in those cities and prepared carefully researched plaques honoring the Palatines who first settled there. A facsimile of the Saugerties plaque is at this Waymarking site.